Jessica Grayson has struggled with body dysmorphia and bullying for most of her life. And when she believes she has finally turned things around for herself, she is betrayed and made fun of by her boyfriend and close friends, which sends her into a...
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After a long struggle, we get to Liam's house, and I call both of our mothers to let them know we are having a sleepover at a friend's house. Steff keeps saying she is thirsty, and we go to the bathroom every five minutes because she has to pee. After a few failed attempts at stripping Liam down, she finally falls asleep in the guest bedroom.
We are exhausted beyond words by the time she is down, and we sit on the carpet next to her bed just in case she wakes up.
"I've never seen anyone act so insane after taking X. It usually makes you slow." Liam says.
"You have used before?" I ask.
"Isn't it obvious?" He looks over at me and smiles sadly.
"Do you still use?" I ask.
He shrugs.
"Maybe."
"Why?"
He looks at me and frowns.
"That's not an easy question to answer." His lips form a thin line. "I want to know what happened to you. I mean, after pre-school."
I feel like my situation is pretty self-explanatory, but I try to sum it up for him.
"Well, I obviously lost weight. I made new friends and turned to the very person I dreaded as a child. A bully. I have no idea how that happened. I guess I deserve all that I'm getting now, huh?"
This is a sensitive topic for me to talk about. I don't know why the hell I'm telling him all this. He stares at me quietly for a while.
"That's not who you are anymore." He says.
"Doesn't matter. Everyone hates me." A lump forms in my throat.
No! I will not cry in front of him.
"I know we don't know each other well, but you are not a bad person. You know people, they are never pleased. They'll talk no matter what. You shouldn't care too much." He says.
I whip my head around to look at him.
"Easy for you to say. Everybody likes you."
"You think everybody likes me?" He sounds surprised, and I have no idea why.
"That is not true. Trust me." He says, and something flashes in his eyes, but it passes as quickly as it came.
"You and Elliot," He says, changing the subject. "What do you like about him?"
Good question.
"He's a great guy," I say because it's the first thing that comes to my mind.
"Is he?" He asks, raising a brow.
Well, not really. Considering he was capable of cheating on me with my best friend and watching me get tortured by her. But I just nod, not wanting to elaborate on the subject any further.
